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Instance grouping guide
Adapted from the original forum article by Albino on Burning Legion. = Overview = "As the veteran of many a good instance group, and even more bad instance groups, it has occurred to me that the difference between success and failure in an instance has less to do with the classes/levels involved than it does with the simple fact that many people do not know how to function in a group environment. Many novice players believe that being in an instance group is the same as grinding mobs with four of their friends. Nothing could be further from the truth, and this belief is responsible for needless death, failure, and lost time." "Anyone who has ever been with a veteran instance group knows that the difference between a knowledgeable group and a novice group is like night and day. A veteran group runs smoothly, quickly, and accomplishes their goals with a minimum of downtime and death. Conversely, a novice group quickly turns into frustration and chaos. Yet a bad group can quickly become a good one with only a small amount of effort, if everyone involved is willing to cooperate." Expert instance groups all exhibit the same characteristics, regardless of the actual composition of the group. Those characteristics are: * Teamwork * Patience * Focus * Knowledge of roles The Concept Good group coordination is all about aggro management. The main tank (MT) holds all the aggro, the healer needs to only heal the MT, and the rest of the group concentrates on killing the mobs, guided by the main assist. This is the core of the Holy Trinity. The Pull This is Stage One of the battle. There should be one designated puller. Attempt to pull one mob at a time without aggroing the entire group, and pull mobs from weakest to strongest. The most common mistakes novice players make when pulling are: * Failing to designate an official puller. * Multiple players pulling more than one mob. * Pulling from the middle of a group. * Pulling before sap, as sap must happen before combat begins. When there are large groups of mobs that cannot be pulled individually, the pull becomes more complex. This is when crowd control skills become very important. The designated puller should know the capabilities of each party member and when to use them. The most well-known crowd control is the Mage's Polymorph (more commonly known as 'Sheeping someone'), but there are several others, some of which must be used before aggroing the mobs. See crowd control for more information. The party should know which crowd control abilities are going to be used before the pull. The party leader should use Raid Target Icons (also known as "Lucky Charms") to easily designate these in a clear and understandable way. For maximum safety, the party should wait some distance away from the mobs, and the puller should run to the group after gaining aggro, so if the pull is bad, only the puller dies and the party is safe. Parties containing Hunters can make use of a pulling tactic called the Perfect Zone of Ultimate Safety which, if done correctly, allows for 100% protection from bad pulls for the entire party (occasionally excluding the hunter himself). Aggro building After the pull, it is imperative that the group does not immediately start blasting away with all available means. Give your tank enough time to build solid aggro on the mobs. A common method is to wait until you see 3/4+ Sunders on the mob first. Each Sunder Armor gives the tank extra aggro so you can do more melee damage (a little later), without drawing aggro. Don't shoot, don't backstab, and try not to heal - the only permitted action for non-tanks in this stage is crowd control. Feel free to sheep, sap, shackle to your heart's content (but try to follow a plan). Priests with Holy Nova can use this early in the pull. It heals those in AoE, and damages all enemies while causing NO aggro. But pay attention to sheeps, saps and such things. The Battle Battles in an instance should be precise and controlled. Novice players often behave the same way in an instance that they would when soloing. They separate and attempt to fight individual skirmishes. This defeats the entire point of grouping, and virtually guarantees a wipe. Instances are designed to be almost impossible for a single player, so your group must try to act as a single entity. The most common mistakes novice players make during battle are: * Scattering, thus drawing adds. * Failing to assist the main assist. * Failing to keep aggro off the Healer (or Nuker). * Pulling entire groups of mobs. * Failing to act as a team. * Breaking crowd control (Sheep, Hunter traps, Sap or Shackle) * Looting during battle. This is highly unwise because it diverts attention away from the battle as the group members examine the loot popup. Post Battle This wouldn't seem to be much of an issue, but nothing distinguishes the novice from the professional more quickly than how you behave after a fight. First of all, you simply must have a team leader, and that team leader must keep the group together post-battle. Too often the Tank, having been kept at full health the entire battle by the Healer, will simply run on to the next group of monsters, totally disregarding the fact that the Healer now needs to regain Mana, or activate Quest items, etc. Many instances are very complex, and it's easy to lose a group member if you run off without making sure everyone is ready. And once a group splits up in an instance, a wipe is the next inevitable step. The most common mistakes novice players make post-battle are: * Abandoning Casters who are regenerating mana. * Wandering from the group, becoming lost or aggroing mobs. * Failing to wait for members who need to accomplish quest tasks. If you don't know your group's looting procedures, now is a good time to ask. Now let's examine some important aspects of Group Dynamics. = Know Your Role = The problem with most MMORPG players is that they want to be unique. While this is fine if you solo or duo, it's a liability in high-level groups and/or instances. In groups, it's best to remember the words of Tyler Durden (Fight Club): "You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake." A lot of players get huffy and say "I'm going to play my character my own way." That's fine, but it has no bearing on the purpose of this guide. This guide exists to improve your group experience, not to stroke your ego. If you refuse to play your designated role within a group, you are a liability to those around you. Ask most good group players what they hate worst in other group members, and 99% of the time they'll say, "Tanks who think they're Rogues and Priests who think they're Mages." The truth is, DPS is the easiest role. You don't have to keep aggro off anybody or keep them alive. Within the group dynamic, each member has a certain expectation of what the other group members will be doing. When that member goes against these expectations, chaos ensues, and a wipe is virtually guaranteed. With that in mind, let's examine the role each member plays within a group in detail: *The Leader (aka "The Strategist") *The Puller *The Crowd Controller (aka "The Sapper" or "The Sheeper") *The Healer *The Tank (aka "The Main Tank") *The Off-Tank *The Main Assist (aka "The Target Chooser") *The Scout (aka "The Reconnaissance") *Damage Dealers (aka "The Artillery") = When It All Goes Wrong = Incorrigible Personality Types Most of this Guide is obviously geared towards Pickup groups or Guilds that haven't yet established Raiding parties. If you're in a group that already works, you probably don't need this Guide. But what if you're in a group that doesn't work, and there doesn't seem to be a way to fix it? There are basic "incorrigible" personality types that will destroy any group. ; The Accidental Aggro-Master (Affectionately referred to as 'Leeroy') : This is the guy who's always running off from the main group, pulling Adds on the group from every direction. Sometimes enjoys "Getting into position" -- his position of course being distantly beyond the pulled group of mobs, where he may aggro the two or three behind it, not to mention patrols. ; The Family Outfitter : This guy whines for every single piece of equipment, because "he has a brother who needs it." Close relative and possible alibi of the Loot-Hogging Farmer. ; The Commander in Chief : He knows the best way to do everything, and demands you do it as such. You can tell him apart from the group because he's always staring at the wall while he types a novel on how to pull the first mob of RFC in /party. He's also the same kind of player that would assign DKP and Master Loot green items in Deadmines. Thinks that every instance is an epic 40 man raid, and must be completed with perfection, speed, and professionalism. This person assumes command even if he is not the party leader. ; The Rambo : This type of player has an irresistible urge to go and kill mobs, and believes in his god-given invincibility. After each kill, he immediately goes off in search of the next one, not caring what the rest of their party is doing. Usually results in his death and party wipe, and is almost always followed by "Where was my heal?" ; The Secret Agent : Periodically announces "BRB" and disappears for a few minutes at a time. Often makes up for his absence on his return by running headfirst into the next mob without warning the party, or rolling Need on the boss's Bind on Pickup loot. ; The Lone Wolf : You never even know who this guy is, because his locator dot is always half a zone away. "I'm coming! Really I am! Oops, got ganked again..." ; Speed Racer : The inevitable member who runs at top speed towards every chest, Quest device, or shiny object in the Instance, usually resulting in Adds, a scattered group, and a Wipe. ; The Jackass : The guy that complains about everything. He's usually a Warrior complaining that the Mage is "rolling on all the Cloth items" or a Rogue complaining when the Warlock doesn't rez him. ; The Habitual Disenchanter : He will beg for every magic item after the roll in order to disenchant it. Does not understand the concept of money. Not to be confused with the Loot-Hogging Farmer, who will beg for every magic item or habitually roll need because he understands the concept of money all too well. ; PVP addict: If a player of the other faction is near with PVP on, this person cant help but attack him, Even if he is 20 levels higher or Lower. Ganking will always result in "He attacked me first!" ; The Loot-Hogging Chinese Gold Farmer : He will roll need on EVERYTHING, and is usually quoted with "I NEED OK?????" only for the offended party to see this exact same loot overpriced on the AH an hour later. Boot him and ask cross-faction over IRC or Vent for this player to be placed on KOS. ; The n00b: He is the guy that aggros everything, can't speak the same language as the rest of the group, doesnt know how to play his class, goes AFK every 5 minutes and Needs on stuff he cant even use BoP or not and says its for "his brother's son in law's mage on a different server." ; The Ninja : This jerk is related to the Speed Racer, but also will roll on every BOP (Bind on Pickup) item whether he can use it or not, AND will grab every chest/item he can. There have been instances that this type has waited till everyone else has passed on an item, then picked it up and hearthed home. These types deserve KOS. ; The ubern00b : Usually has a stupid name (such as Cloudxkillzorg or Destroyerxx or Tehultimateownzorage or Killerxomg) repeatedly opens sentances with "OMFG" always in caps lock. will always call everyone else "n00b" and always say "STFU" (typical sentance will consist of "OMFG STFU n00b I OWNz0r YOU OMFG) ; Boost wanter : The guy who always wants a boost for an instance he is 10 levels too low for and threatens to "Haxx0r your comp" if you don't. ; The n00binator : This is the person who combines everything above. He will deliberately Aggro every mob in the instance, open up every sentance with "OMFG" need on things he doesn't need, go AFK all the time, and always laugh at you when you die. He is ALWAYS a rogue and is often seen LFG for an instance for which he is far too low in level. When you find yourself Grouped with people like this, your best course of action is to simply find another group. If that's not an option, then do your best to ignore them, and/or ask the Group Leader to handle it. If you are the group leader, simply Boot them and find a new member. If they are the Group Leader, either deal with it or leave, but keep in mind that you're probably destined for failure. Dying with Dignity You're gonna die. You've only got a little health left. There's a monster beating on you or a spell flying at you and in a few more hits it'll be all over. What can you do? DO NOT RUN! I can't say this enough. You can't escape, the mobs will follow you all the way to the instance entrance (and worse, if your party wipes, those monsters will remain at the instance entrance to greet you as you reenter the instance, often requiring an instance reset). You can't dodge their attacks. Running just makes it harder for people to help you. It makes it harder for the tank to get the mob off of you and save you. You might aggro more mobs making the rest of the party's time even more miserable. Running does nothing to help you. However, bearing this in mind, if you have reincarnation or a soulstone, it is appropriate to die a way back from the mobs so that you can resurrect without aggroing them. Do let the rest of the party know you're dying. The healer and tank may not have noticed. A simple yell of "HELP" will do. The tank has ways to pull all mobs onto him or a priest can shield you. Do try to die in an easy to find place clear of mobs to make rezing you easier. Don't release on death. This allows you to share in any reward after the battle. It also leaves your name above your head and a dot on the minimap so the healer can find you to rez. It is often hard to locate a dead party member in a pile of corpses or in lava if he has released. Do remember to pop a healing potion. If you run out of healing potions see if another party member will give you one for such an emergency. Surviving a Wipe So a horde of mobs is racing towards you and certain doom is at hand. You're all gonna die. What now? It is possible to recover from this sort of situation and avoid a wipe, if certain key members of the party act quickly, decisively and without remorse. The whole idea is to keep someone alive who can rez. First, the leader has to decide that a wipe is inevitable and announce this to the rest of the party so they can take appropriate actions without doubt or hesitation. If the puller is distanced from the party and none of the other party members have attacked he can simply die. Do not assist the puller. Do not heal him. Do not attack any of the mobs. Once the puller is dead the mobs will have no targets and the battle is over. The puller can be rez'd (it helps if he dies in an area clear of mobs) and try again. Then most important is the actions of the priest, or any member of the party which can rez. If the healer does not aggro any mobs they will not attack him after the rest of the party has died. This means s/he can escape death and rez the rest of the party. So in a wipe situation the best action for the healer to take is none. Just back away from the fight and let everyone die. Then resurrect them. This may seem cruel but if a wipe is inevitable it is the fastest way to get the party going again. Druids can try to cast Rebirth on a party member who can rez, if this happens, the reborn party member should wait until after the battle, then resurrect and rez the rest of the party. Also, casting Rebirth on the main tank might effectively prevent a wipe. If a wipe does occur, the druid might be able to sneak back in, past mobs, and cast Rebirth on a party member who can then rez the rest of the party. Any rogues can use vanish to escape the fight and save themselves. If they happen to be Engineers they can use Jumper Cables to have a chance of resurrecting the healer. Otherwise they should return to the instance entrance to clear the way for the rest of the party's return. This also applies to Hunters and Feign Death Any Shamans in the party can be a lifesaver in case of a wipe. Their Reincarnation ability allows a Shaman to resurrect himself and start resurrecting the entire party. When the leader announces the inevitability of a wipe, or when the situation is indicative of a wipe, the Shaman should find a safe spot to die. This simply entails running off and finding a space clear of mobs. When everybody's dead, all the mobs have run off and everything has calmed down, the Shaman can reincarnate and start resurrecting. A very important aspect of this, is that the Shaman should never, ever, reincarnate in combat, as he will reincarnate with minimal mana and health and waste his ability for at least 40 minutes. On a similar note, Warlocks can "lend" a Reincarnation-like ability to another player in the form of the Soulstone buff. This should always be a character capable of rez'ing, and of those, the player least likely to die (as you lose the buff even if you are resurrected by another player). In an alliance group this is most likely to be a paladin, assuming he isn't attempting to main tank. Priests tend to be a little too fragile, and in tougher battles will frequently draw aggro, even when in a moderately skilled group. An exception to this might be in certain very difficult battles: when the healer has run out of mana, he can intentionally cause his own death, and then use the Soulstone to regain a moderately large amount of mana. Paladins can place another rezzer out of combat and safe with their Divine Intervention spell. The Paladin sacrifices himself with the spell (and a reagent) to ensure 1 person's safety. That person will not be able to move or do anything for three minutes or until they cancel the buff. Thereafter (if out of range from mobs) they can then proceed to rez the group. = Summing It All Up = In summary, it's not difficult to have a good Grouping experience. However, it's even easier to have a disastrous one. Remember that teamwork is the key, with each person filling their role to contribute to the success of the whole. The entire group must focus on each task as a team, or the entire group fails. Per Class Tips In addition to the above general, and role-specific advice, each individual class has a different role to perform in the hectic rough and tumble of the Instanced Dungeons, and knowing how your class fits into the team, and what the other classes are capable of, can make a great deal of difference. * Druid * Hunter * Mage * Paladin * Priest * Rogue * Shaman * Warlock * Warrior = Additional Tips = * Be especially careful using fear in any Instance, as more often than not, your fear as a last ditch effort may draw more mobs and turn a close call into a hopeless battle. As a general rule of thumb, simply don't use fear in an instance. Cases in which fear would be an acceptable thing to do are only when: :* 1: You are the healer and are about to die in a situation where the group can obviously not survive without you. :* 2: You are saving the healer when he is about to die and the group can obviously not survive without him. :* 3: You are fighting a boss which can quickly drop a character and you have already taken out all nearby mobs. This is the only time in which the tactic of fearbouncing could be recommended in a party. * DON'T RUN! Running away is usually useless anyway. Mobs will often chase you all the way to the instance entrance so running doesn't help. Also your back side is a MUCH nicer target than your front, do you want to die facing your foe, or running like a scared little girl? Who knows you may just kill the mob before it kills you, or weaken it enough that someone else can kill it, preventing a wipe, and maybe the healer can rez you. :* If you let mobs hit you from behind, you will, more often than not, become dazed, which slows you to a shuffle anyway, further adding to the futility of flight. * In general, kill healers first, casters second, anything else third. Healers can prolong the fight. Casters can do tremendous amounts of damage, but are usually relatively easy to kill. * The puller might run ahead to draw in a mob. Don't run up with him; stay back with the rest of the party. The puller will draw the mob to you, away from any adds. When in doubt, stay behind the tank. You should be in the following order, from front position to most safe position: puller, tank, off-tank, and then everybody else. * When in doubt, attack the tank's target (or the Main Assist's target, if you have one). This is best accomplished by using the Assist Main Tank/Main Assist macro. * Particularly in the high level instances, there is more to watch out for than simply being nuked or beat on by the mobs. Make sure you aren't making life harder in battle by standing in range of an AoE attack when you're a long ranged attacker, or standing in places that may get you attacked by patrols or other nearby mobs. On the same note, watch out for mobs that can fling you away, into the air. They'll run at you and you'll go flying--make sure this doesn't send you toward another group of mobs or maybe worse, off the edge of a cliff. When possible, fight these mobs with your back to a wall. * Curiosity Bad! Don't touch any usable 'cog-icon' objects until the entire group is rested and ready. Several instances have usable bits and pieces - doors, levers, buttons, etc, and many of these will spawn new enemies. Only do so when everyone is ready and alert. But it indeed IS a rumor that the neutral NPCs in Blackrock Depths and Scholomance will attack you if you talk to them. * Watch Your Back! One common feature of the Instance is triggered 'Patrols' being spawned behind the party when it reaches certain key points. Just because you've killed everything you've seen on the way in, doesn't always mean there's nothing behind you. Have someone keep an eye out behind. * Listen to your party. '''In the end this is a group effort and, as such, decisions have to be taken to benefit all. Also, do not be afraid to ask. Being marked as a newbie is better than causing a wipe because you were too afraid to ask if you could activate something and did it anyway. Although it's often forgotten, everyone was a newbie once. * '''Not Out Yet. Similarly, just because you've made it to the end of the map and killed the big monster with the exotic name, it doesn't necessarily mean you're done yet. Further scripted events on the way out should not be ruled out, and if the expedition has taken longer than two hours, (wipes, etc), respawning becomes a possibility. Stay together and on high alert until the party is out to the Meeting Stone and breathing fresh air again. Category:Guides Category:Newbies Instance Grouping Guide Instance Grouping Guide